Chargers Confirm Torn Patellar Tendon For LT Rashawn Slater
AUGUST 8: Harbaugh confirmed (via ESPN’s Kris Rhim) that Alt will replace Slater on the blind side with Pipkins taking over at right tackle. The Chargers are also planning to work out some offensive linemen this weekend to find another swing tackle. They’ll also get a chance to evaluate Salyer, who is starting Sunday’s preseason game at left tackle, according to The Athletic’s Daniel Popper.
AUGUST 7: Rashawn Slater was carted off the field during Thursday’s practice. Hours later, the worst-case scenario emerged. Testing on the Chargers’ franchise left tackle indicates he will not play in 2025.
Slater is feared to have suffered a torn patellar tendon, Ian Rapoport, Mike Garafolo and Tom Pelissero of NFL Network report. The team has since confirmed Slater suffered the tear. This is a brutal blow for Slater and the Chargers, who indicated the Pro Bowl tackle is heading to IR.
This also represents incredible timing for Slater regarding his extension. The Pro Bowl blocker established the new AAV standard for offensive linemen ($28.5MM), agreeing to terms before training camp. The Chargers paid Slater after he had solidified their LT position, a job that had seen turnover between King Dunlap‘s tenure and the Tom Telesco regime drafting Slater in the 2021 first round. Slater will still be expected to live up to the contract, but that effort is now delayed.
The Bolts gave Slater a four-year, $114MM extension that came with $56MM guaranteed at signing. Among left tackles, only Andrew Thomas — on a five-year Giants deal — bettered the at-signing figure. Slater managed to beat out tackles with better rookie-contract resumes, benefiting by the Chargers waiting until his fifth NFL offseason to pay him. Now, major questions emerge regarding the Bolts’ 2025 O-line.
Joe Alt played left tackle at Notre Dame; the Chargers moved the 2024 No. 5 overall pick to the right side due to Slater’s presence. After another full offseason of RT training, Alt sliding to the blind side would be a gamble for the Bolts. But that would be an option due to his dominance there with the Fighting Irish. The Chargers also moved Trey Pipkins from right tackle to guard to accommodate Alt’s 2024 arrival. Pipkins had re-signed to play right tackle. Jim Harbaugh announced earlier this week a starting five that did not included Pipkins. This could be a way back for the supplanted blocker, as ESPN.com’s Kris Rhim indicates an Alt-at-LT, Pipkins-to-RT plan is the most likely outcome following the Slater news.
Harbaugh said (via The Athletic’s Daniel Popper) the Chargers had decided on a Slater-Zion Johnson–Bradley Bozeman–Mekhi Becton-Alt front five. Slater, Becton and Alt were entrenched starters, while Johnson and Bozeman entered camp with positional uncertainty. Pipkins (56 career starts, most coming at right tackle) gives the Chargers options most teams do not have when they lose a player of Slater’s caliber. Alt moving over makes more sense, as Pipkins has not played more than 77 LT snaps in a season since his rookie year.
A 2019 third-round pick, Pipkins worked as the Bolts’ full-time RT starter from 2022-23. The Chargers passed on Malik Nabers at No. 5 last year to install Alt at RT, kicking Pipkins inside. The transition was not exactly successful, as Becton has since booted Pipkins from the starting lineup. Pro Football Focus graded Pipkins outside the top 60 at guard last season; the advanced metrics site did not grade him higher than 50th during his time as the Chargers’ top RT.
Teams certainly never have great options when losing a Slater-like presence. Alt was a two-time All-American left tackle at Notre Dame, honors that propelled him into the top five of last year’s draft. The three-year, $21.75MM deal Pipkins signed in 2023 — Telesco’s final offseason in charge — could represent a lifeline for both the Chargers and the contract-year blocker. Pipkins, 29, is also not the only possible contingency plan here.
Slater had bounced back from a three-game 2022, when he was shut down because of a biceps tendon tear. The Northwestern product played in 32 games over the past two seasons, missing one in 2024 due to a pectoral injury. The 2022 season also revealed another potential Bolts option, as Jamaree Salyer replaced Slater at left tackle.
A 2022 sixth-round pick out of Georgia, Salyer slid to guard in 2023 but was unable to keep a first-string job following the Alt move last year. Salyer worked as the Bulldogs’ starting left tackle from 2020-21. While Salyer made only four starts last season, he joins Pipkins as possible contingency plans for a Chargers team that has devoted considerable resources to its O-line.
Unfortunately, the team’s top piece is out of the picture. PFF graded Slater as the NFL’s second-best tackle last season. The standout missed offseason time while angling for a new deal, and the fifth-year tackle going down soon after signing it stands to significantly affect a Bolts team that doubled down at running back — via the Najee Harris signing and Omarion Hampton first-round investment — this offseason.
This Chargers offseason brought depth up front. Pipkins and Salyer join four-year Raiders center starter Andre James in representing the Bolts’ newfound depth. It would stand to reason the Chargers will call on Pipkins or Salyer to move into the lineup following this injury, and it will be interesting to see if Alt indeed makes the switch back to his college role for this season.
Adam La Rose contributed to this post.
Ravens Rookie CB Bilhal Kone Suffers Season-Ending Knee Injury
Ravens rookie cornerback Bilhal Kone suffered a season-ending knee injury in Thursday night’s preseason win over the Colts.
Kone went down late in the first quarter after a tight coverage rep against Colts wideout Ashton Dulin. He was carted off the field and an initial report from FOX Sports’ Jordan Schultz indicated that the sixth-round pick tore both his ACL and his MCL.
Ravens head coach John Harbaugh confirmed after the game that Kone suffered a torn ligament in his knee and would be out for the season. The former Western Michigan standout was competing for a spot on Baltimore’s 53-man roster, though the team’s depth at cornerback made his inclusion far from a certainty.
The Ravens weren’t counting on Kone to contribute on defense as a rookie with at least six cornerbacks ahead of him on the depth chart. They were, however, hoping that he could carve out a special teams role and improve as a defender in practice every week.
Now, he will spend his first NFL season on the sidelines as he mentally and physically recovers from his injury. His absence from the roster competition will give fellow Day 3 cornerback Robert Longerbeam a better shot at making the roster, though UDFA Reuben Lowery might be the team’s best rookie defensive back not named Malaki Starks.
Harbaugh also offered an update on rookie offensive lineman Emery Jones, who is still on the Non-Football Injury list as he recovers from spring shoulder surgery. He was originally projected for a “mid camp” return, according to Jeff Zrebiec of The Athletic, but the third-rounder has yet to be medically cleared to play. That will likely erase any chance of Jones competing for a starting guard job as a rookie; at this rate, just getting on the practice field would be a major step forward.
Broncos Rumors: Sutton, RBs, Henningsen
The Broncos resolved two contract matters recently, extending Courtland Sutton and Zach Allen. While the All-Pro defensive lineman landed a deal that ranks him third at his position in terms of per-year value, the steady wide receiver accepted a lesser pact.
Sutton’s four-year, $92MM extension places him 18th among wideouts in AAV. That $23MM number slides alongside Calvin Ridley‘s free agency deal and just behind Michael Pittman Jr.‘s 2024 terms. The contract includes $41MM in total guarantees. All but $1MM of the latter figure checks in guaranteed at signing. The additional $1MM covers an injury guarantee in 2027, 9News’ Mike Klis notes.
[RELATED: Sutton Left Money On Table During Extension Talks]
That $1MM will shift from an injury guarantee to a full guarantee on Day 5 of the 2027 league year, Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio adds. The Broncos used option bonuses to keep Sutton’s cap hits low. Both his 2025 and ’26 cap figures check in south of $14MM. In 2027, that number spikes to $28.48MM, per OverTheCap. The Broncos would be hit with $15.85MM in dead money if they released Sutton in 2027. In 2028, that number lowers to a more manageable $9.78MM. Still, the contract’s guarantees — for the most part — will pay out by the 2026 season.
No rolling guarantee structure is present, giving the Broncos flexibility with a receiver who will turn 30 in October. Sutton has been Denver’s top wideout over the past two seasons, meshing better in Sean Payton‘s system compared to Jerry Jeudy. With questions covering the rest of the Broncos’ WR corps, Sutton will again be positioned as Bo Nix‘s top target this season.
While Denver did not add a surefire starter to accompany Sutton at receiver this offseason, the team overhauled its backfield by using a second-round pick on R.J. Harvey and signing J.K. Dobbins to likely work as a short-term starter. This Mark Ingram–Alvin Kamara-like setup — that appears the goal here, at least — leaves incumbents vying for jobs. Former UDFA Jaleel McLaughlin has appeared the favorite to land the RB3 role as a change-of-pace option, but he may not be a roster lock just yet.
The Broncos used Tyler Badie in key portions of their joint practice with the 49ers, per Klis, who points to the Missouri alum being ahead of 2024 fifth-round pick Audric Estime. Although Badie played in front of McLaughlin in the joint workout, the Denver Post’s Parker Gabriel lists the third-year player as the most consistent option for the RB3 role leading up to the Broncos’ preseason opener.
McLaughlin has been steady as a change-of-pace option, as the NCAA all-divisions rushing leader has 570- and 572-yard seasons (from scrimmage) during his first two years. A 2022 sixth-round Ravens draftee, Badie has only taken 12 career handoffs. A back injury shelved Badie for much of last season, but the Broncos both saved an IR activation for him and deemed Estime a healthy scratch in their wild-card game. Estime fumbled twice last season but was the team’s third-leading RB rusher (Nix was third on the team) with 310 yards. Three years remain on his rookie deal, but the Broncos would barely take on $250K by cutting the big back.
Shifting to defense, a key backup on Denver’s D-line from 2022-23 — Matt Henningsen — may lose a full season due to injury. The Broncos fear Henningsen suffered an Achilles tear during their joint practice with the 49ers, Klis reports. The injury occurred during a one-on-one drill.
Although the former sixth-round pick has never started a game, he was a key backup from 2022-23 — before spending last year mostly on the practice squad. The Broncos have a fairly clear top five up front — Allen, D.J. Jones, John Franklin-Myers, Malcolm Roach, third-round rookie Sai’Vion Jones — and Gabriel pegs Jordan Jackson and Eyioma Uwazurike as vying for a roster spot. Uwazurike is best known for his involvement in an Iowa State gambling investigation, leading to a full-season 2023 ban, while Jackson is a former Saints sixth-rounder who played 17 Broncos games last year.
Cody Ford In Lead For Bengals Starting Job; Dylan Fairchild Entrenched At LG
Defense understandably became the primary Bengals offseason focus, given the events of 2024, but the team will almost definitely have a rookie starting on offense. Despite not being drafted until No. 81 overall, Dylan Fairchild appears a safe bet to begin his rookie season as a starter.
The Bengals have Fairchild ready to take over at left guard, The Athletic’s Paul Dehner Jr. notes. Rather than cross-training Fairchild at both guard spots, OC Dan Pitcher said (via SI.com’s Jay Morrison) the team is only having him work at the LG spot. That development has not yet hit a snag, and Fairchild is readying to replace Cordell Volson as the Bengals’ primary starter there.
Touted as a competition between Volson and Fairchild, Cincinnati’s LG situation now looks settled. Fairchild will make the common SEC-to-NFL jump, coming from Georgia. Fairchild started for the Bulldogs over the previous two seasons, earning second-team All-America acclaim for his 2024 performance. Although veteran options exist in Cincinnati, the team’s plan appears clear.
A 2022 fourth-round pick, Volson had been the Bengals’ primary LG from 2022-24. He started 48 games in that span but was benched in December of last year. The Bengals then reduced his contract-year salary this offseason, adding $500K guaranteed in that compromise, putting the North Dakota State product on the roster bubble.
With Fairchild the likely Week 1 Cincy LG starter, the team will turn to a veteran at the other guard spot. While the Bengals signed Lucas Patrick this offseason, ESPN.com’s Ben Baby notes Cody Ford is the clubhouse leader to take over there. Ford can be classified as having the inside track, per Baby, especially as Patrick has missed recent practices with an injury. The Bengals gave Patrick a one-year, $2.1MM deal but only guaranteed him $200K. Ford re-signed on a two-year, $6MM contract that came with $1MM guaranteed.
Both deals featured the team protecting itself, but Ford is now in his third year in Zac Taylor‘s system. After making one start in 2023, the former Bills second-round pick made nine last season. Ford, though, spent most of his 2024 time filling in for Orlando Brown Jr. at left tackle. He played 431 snaps there, logging zero at right guard. Ford did line up at LG on 152 plays last year. Patrick has vacillated between center and guard during his career. After a two-year run as the Bears’ primary snapper ended, he caught on with the Saints and worked as their primary LG, logging 474 snaps there last season.
Overall, the Bengals are counting on lower-level investments to bail them out at guard — after the team released three-year RG Alex Cappa this offseason — and Dehner adds neither Ford nor Patrick looked great during the team’s preseason opener Thursday. This is obviously not a great juncture to bring in a veteran, and a July offering pointed to the Bengals standing down here. That said, Brandon Scherff, Dalton Risner, Cody Whitehair and Mark Glowinski are available. The Cardinals and Steelers, respectively, took Will Hernandez and Andrus Peat off the market Thursday. The waiver wire figures to also be a place to monitor for Cincy here.
Ford has yet to hold a starting job for a lengthy period as a pro, being traded out of Buffalo and not being retained by Arizona as a 2023 free agent. Ford has made 42 career starts, however. Barring an outside addition, it appears the Oklahoma alum will add to that total soon.
NFC South Notes: Bridgewater, Bucs, Pitts, Falcons, Panthers, C, Saints
The 2020 free agent class featured a few viable starting quarterbacks, helping the Buccaneers transition from the erratic Jameis Winston. Tampa Bay was closely connected to two of the available options — Tom Brady and Teddy Bridgewater. Reporting at the time made it fairly clear Bridgewater — who had spent the previous two seasons as Drew Brees‘ Saints backup — was the Bucs’ second choice behind Brady. Upon circling back to the veteran QB this week, Jason Licht confirmed (via ESPN.com’s Jenna Laine) that was the case.
Licht said he mentioned this to Bridgewater upon the unretired passer joining to the Bucs — his eighth NFL team — this week. The Bucs landed Brady, beating out the Chargers, who were losing Philip Rivers to the Colts. Bridgewater ended up doing nearly as well as Brady on the contract front, scoring a three-year, $63MM Panthers deal. Though, as Carolina cycled through passers during the Matt Rhule years, Bridgewater wound up in Denver — on a sizable pay cut — in 2021 via trade. He joins Kyle Trask as a Baker Mayfield backup option.
Here is the latest from the NFC South:
- Although the Falcons completed a notable extension this week — with right tackle Kaleb McGary, a recent report indicated they did not have anything brewing with Kyle Pitts. When asked about the possibility of an extension, GM Terry Fontenot (via The Athletic’s Josh Kendall) did not discuss the matter. While Fontenot said the Falcons “love” where Pitts is ahead of his fifth season, they might need to see more from a player who has underwhelmed from the No. 4 overall draft slot. It would stand to reason Fontenot would be interested in a Pitts payday, seeing as he made the tight end his first draft pick as GM, but the inconsistent pass catcher has battled injuries — including an offseason foot issue he looks to have recovered from — and has not come close to matching his 1,000-yard rookie season. That said, Pitts (25) could position himself as a top-tier 2026 free agent with a solid contract year.
- Staying with the Falcons, they are pitting Jordan Fuller against third-round rookie Xavier Watts in a competition to replace Justin Simmons. Fuller and Watts have alternated with Atlanta’s starters, per ESPN.com’s Marc Raimondi, alongside Jessie Bates at safety. Even if Watts cannot beat out Fuller — a former Raheem Morris Rams charge — for the job, the Falcons are expecting him to log extensive rookie-year playing time. The team traded up five spots for Watts, a two-time All-American at Notre Dame.
- Jamal Agnew did not see any game action last season, having spent 2024 recovering from a broken leg sustained in Week 17 of the 2023 season. Agnew wound up on the Steelers’ practice squad but did not suit up with the team. The Falcons signed him to a one-year, $2.5MM deal in March, only guaranteeing $400K. Still, the veteran receiver/return man is expected to make the Falcons’ 53-man roster, Kendall notes. While Drake London, Darnell Mooney, Ray-Ray McCloud and KhaDarel Hodge are locks, Kendall pegs Agnew as a “strong bet” for the fifth spot. Adept at both kick and punt returns, Agnew — a 2022 Pro Bowler in Jacksonville — figures to be used in this capacity.
- The Panthers re-signed Austin Corbett in March but also retained Cade Mays via RFA tender. At $3.26MM, the original-round tender brought tougher decisions this year; months later, Mays is in a competition with Corbett to start at center, ESPN.com’s David Newton notes. Corbett and Mays have alternated days with the Panthers’ first team. With Corbett missing 25 games between the 2023 and ’24 seasons, he is having to fend off Mays for the job. The Panthers slid Corbett from guard to center in 2024, having signed Robert Hunt and Damien Lewis, and used him as a starter in each game he played. But the ex-Rams Super Bowl starter suffered a biceps tear in October, shutting him down. Mays has made 13 starts since 2023, logging all 495 of his 2024 snaps at center.
- Julian Blackmon‘s one-year Saints contract is worth slightly less than initially reported. Rather than a $4MM deal, ESPN.com’s Katherine Terrell notes the veteran safety signed for $3.17MM. That amount is fully guaranteed.
T.J. Watt Aiming To Play Several More Seasons; Payton Wilson Moving Toward Steelers’ Starting Lineup
As the Steelers have another contract issue with Cameron Heyward, the other half of the team’s longstanding pass-rushing duo will attempt to follow his career path. T.J. Watt, the second member of the NFL’s $40MM-per-year defender club, is not aiming to call it quits in the near future.
Although T.J. Watt watched brother J.J. Watt retire at 33 due largely to a heart condition, the All-Pro Steelers defender does not plan on retiring anytime soon. The recently extended outside linebacker said (via the Pat McAfee Show’s Mark Kaboly) he will aim to follow Heyward’s path and play several more seasons.
Entering Year 9, Watt already appears to have done enough to secure Hall of Fame entry. The 2017 first-round pick is a four-time first-team All-Pro, matching Michael Strahan‘s official single-season sack record and doing so in just 15 games back in 2021. While J.J. Watt is the only player in NFL history to have two official 20-sack seasons, T.J. nearly landed there after following up his 22.5-sack slate with a 19-sack 2023. T.J. Watt is the only NFLer to lead the league in sacks three times.
Watt’s third contract — a three-year, $123MM deal with a whopping $108MM guaranteed at signing — runs through the 2028 season. Staying at, or even near, his current form will call for another record — or near-record — payday by 2028. The Steelers neither negotiate in-season or hammer out extensions for non-contract-year players; this complicates Heyward’s contract quest ahead of his age-36 season. Watt (31 in October), however, has been able to bend the team on post-Year 1 guarantees — a path the organization does not like to traverse.
In terms of official sacks (since 1982), T.J. Watt is already in 31st (108) on the list. He is 15 away from the top 20. Motoring to a lucrative fourth contract, provided he can stay close to the stratospheric pace he has started on, could move the Steeler sack ace onto hallowed ground. Tenth place (Richard Dent/John Randle) is less than 30 sacks away (137.5). The only active players ahead of Watt on the list are much closer to the end of their respective careers — Von Miller (129.5), Cameron Jordan (121.5), Calais Campbell (110.5).
Shifting to Pittsburgh’s inside linebacker position, Patrick Queen looks close to having a new full-time running mate. Payton Wilson, a 2024 third-round pick, appears likely to see his usage increase from the 45% snap share he earned as a rookie. The NC State product — the 2023 Butkus award winner — is believed to be “miles ahead” in the race to play alongside Queen, Kaboly adds. Wilson started four of 17 games last season.
The Steelers also have Cole Holcomb and Malik Harrison at linebacker, but neither is projected to be a regular option at this point. Holcomb signed with the team to work as such and had been a starter before a severe knee injury, sustained in November 2023, kept him off the field throughout 2024. After a pay-cut agreement, Holcomb is due a nonguaranteed $2MM this year. The Steelers can cut the former Washington starter free of charge until his salary becomes guaranteed shortly before Week 1.
Harrison started 34 games with the Ravens, including seven last season after he eventually became the team’s Queen replacement alongside Roquan Smith. The Ravens let Harrison walk, and the Steelers added him on a two-year, $10MM deal. Harrison, 27, figures to have a role. But Pro Football Focus, on the strength of Wilson’s coverage ability, graded him as a top-20 ILB as a rookie. PFF slotted Wilson as a top-10 off-ball LB in coverage. Harrison does stand to provide insurance against Wilson not ascending as the Steelers hope.
Pittsburgh cleared a path for Wilson by letting two-year ILB starter Elandon Roberts defect to Las Vegas in free agency. Wilson and Roberts, though, had effectively split time. The latter carried a 44% snap rate in 2024. Wilson, who entered the NFL after having suffered season-ending injuries twice in college, is signed through the 2027 season. His rookie-deal terms complement Watt, Queen and Alex Highsmith, and it appears this season will provide a test to see if he can handle a busier role.
Texans S Jimmie Ward Arrested For Violating Bail
Jimmie Ward is due in court next week for a hearing on his third-degree felony charge. That hearing had been postponed from mid-July to August 13. In advance of that, the Texans safety was arrested again.
The 34-year-old defender spent Thursday night in Montgomery County Jail after being arrested on an alcohol charge in Texas, KPRC2’s Aaron Wilson reports. Ward tested positive for alcohol, which is a violation of his bail.
Ward’s attorney said the former first-round pick was unaware he could not consume any alcohol as part of a bond condition; Ward is expected to be released from jail Friday, Wilson adds. Ward is currently on the active/PUP list while rehabbing foot surgery.
In his third year with the Texans, Ward has seen off-field issues overshadow his aim at playing a 12th NFL season. The former 49ers draftee was accused of assaulting, strangling and threatening the mother of his child, being hit with an assault family violence impeding breath/circulation charge related to an incident at his home in Magnolia, Texas. The woman has been granted an emergency protective order. After his August 13 information setting court date, Ward is due back in court to appear before a grand jury August 31.
The Texans have Ward tied to a $5.67MM cap number; he is due a $2.75MM base salary. An NFL suspension is unlikely to come before this grand jury appearance, potentially putting Ward in position to debut on time with the Texans. But he has also yet to practice with the team during camp.
Ward suffered the season-ending foot malady in Week 16. The Texans then traded for C.J. Gardner-Johnson, who has worked as a starter alongside Calen Bullock. Gardner-Johnson dodged a bullet in avoiding an ACL tear in practice Thursday, but the twice-traded DB is still expected to miss time with an unspecified knee injury.
Colts QB Anthony Richardson Suffers Dislocated Finger
AUGUST 8: After Richardson downplayed the injury postgame, Fox Sports’ Jordan Schultz notes his X-rays came back clean. The young passer is expected to be back at practice without missing much time. This will allow Richardson to remain in the Colts’ QB competition.
AUGUST 7: The Colts’ quarterback competition received a pivotal update Thursday night. Anthony Richardson left Indianapolis’ preseason opener in Baltimore with a finger injury and appears likely to miss time.
Richardson suffered a dislocated pinky finger on his throwing hand, Shane Steichen told Colts sideline reporter Larra Overton (h/t the Indianapolis Star’s Joel Erickson). No timetable is in place for the third-year QB’s return.
Tonight’s game represented an important window for Richardson, who earned the first start over Daniel Jones in Indy’s QB race. Richardson was to play roughly 1 1/2 quarters tonight, with Jones receiving less time. That order will flip next week, but the Colts’ second preseason contest may not feature any Richardson action based on tonight’s events.
The injury occurred during a David Ojabo sack on the Colts’ second possession, limiting Richardson’s time. Jones joined Indianapolis because of the starting opportunity in play, and Richardson’s injuries are a key part of why they pursued the longtime Giants starter. Jones’ path to a sixth straight Week 1 starting role became clearer tonight.
Richardson missed 13 games with a shoulder injury last season and dealt with multiple issues in 2024. Oblique trouble knocked Richardson out early in the season, and after a performance-based benching brought only a brief midseason Joe Flacco cameo, the aging QB was back at the controls to close the season due to Richardson experiencing foot and back trouble. This offseason then brought another shoulder issue for Richardson, who fell behind Jones after missing minicamp.
Richardson only started one college season, and that brought inaccuracy concerns that have not been resolved. The Florida alum’s woeful accuracy showing (47.7%) last season also prompted the Colts to acquire Jones as high-profile insurance. Leading up to camp, it looked like Jones would be the Week 1 starter. But Richardson had shown signs of life during camp’s early practices, drawing even with Jones ahead of this starting assignment. An extended absence would likely lead to Jones winning this competition by default.
Jones has also not been a beacon of health during his career, missing extensive time due to neck trouble and a 2022 ACL tear. The once-embattled New York starter made it back to open the 2024 season but did not last through November in that role, being released after a benching. Jones would move closer to the Colts’ job if Richardson sits during the team’s second preseason tilt, but this competition could certainly drag into the season based on the unremarkable NFL work each entrant has submitted to date.
Cameron Heyward, Chris Boswell Seeking Steelers Contract Adjustments
Questions about Cameron Heyward‘s 2025 status loomed last year, when the standout defensive lineman had come off a season in which an injury provided significant limitations. The Steelers, however, extended their top piece up front to seemingly put an end to contract speculation.
A year later, however, Heyward is not happy with his deal. The Steelers tacked on a two-year, $29MM extension to the likely Hall of Famer’s through-2024 contract; as a result, he is signed through the 2026 season. Heyward bounced back in 2024, earning his fourth first-team All-Pro honor. The resurgent interior pass rusher is now seeking a contract update, ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter and Brooke Pryor report.
This situation has morphed into a hold-in, as Pryor indicated Heyward did not suit up for practice Thursday. The 15th-year Steelers defender has mostly done work off to the side during camp, per ESPN. First-round pick Derrick Harmon has benefited in terms of team reps. Harmon is in place as a presumptive Heyward successor up front, but for the time being, the two will be expected to work together to help a Steelers defense perennially in the NFL’s upper echelon.
The parties have discussed this matter privately, per ESPN, but no progress has emerged. This would explain the matter becoming public, as the Steelers — after months of another T.J. Watt extension saga — have another cornerstone player to deal with on the contract front. Heyward, who rebounded from two groin surgeries after missing six 2023 games to post an eight-sack 2024, has been a high-end Watt sidekick in one of the sack era’s best inside-outside tandems. Heyward was open to exploring a post-Pittsburgh path last year, but his extension quieted that talk. Now, he will force the issue once again.
Heyward is going into his age-36 season, making it somewhat understandable — given his importance to the Steelers and the form he showed last season — he would be back at the table already. Though, the Steelers have rigid contract principles. They do not negotiate in-season, and they have traditionally refused to rip up deals before players’ contract years. Antonio Brown‘s past is worth recalling here.
The superstar wideout had outplayed his contract, soaring to back-to-back first-team All-Pro placements in 2014 and ’15. But two years remained on Brown’s deal in 2016. The Steelers did not budge, rather (as the Pat McAfee Show‘s Mark Kaboly reminds) moved $4MM from the mercurial wideout’s 2017 money into 2016 to placate him without setting a new contract precedent. The Steelers then extended Brown on a top-market deal early in the 2017 offseason. Brown, though, was only 28 when he landed a lucrative third contract. Heyward is much closer to the end of his career, and a 2025 decline would stand to weaken his negotiating position ahead of the 2026 offseason.
Heyward’s $14.5MM-per-year number represents a rare discount, as he was tied to a $16.4MM-AAV deal prior to that 2024 redo. Heyward’s current AAV figure sits 22nd among interior D-linemen. Far less accomplished players like Milton Williams and Zach Allen scored deals averaging more than $25MM per year, though they are obviously much younger and in better position to command that kind of money. But the offseason also saw the likes of Osa Odighizuwa reach $20MM per year and one-year Chiefs starter Tershawn Wharton top Heyward (at $15MM per).
Pittburgh’s longest-tenured player, who became the first 35-year-old D-lineman to be named first-team All-Pro since sack kingpin Bruce Smith in 1998, will attempt to use his absence to force at least a Brown-like update due to his value to the team ahead of what is expected to be an Aaron Rodgers one-and-done.
Heyward is not the only Steeler eyeing an updated contract. Chris Boswell is angling for new terms as well, according to Schefter and Pryor. One of the NFL’s best kickers, Boswell has dropped to the league’s 11th-highest-paid player at the position. Boswell is tied to a four-year, $20MM deal. The gap between Boswell and the highest-paid kickers is not nearly as wide as the Heyward gulf, but a number of specialists have passed him since that $5MM-per-year pact matched Justin Tucker atop the market in August 2022.
Like Heyward, however, Boswell is signed for two more seasons. If the Steelers do not break stride for one of the best defenders in team history, they certainly would pause with their kicker. Boswell, 34, is the team’s second-longest-tenured player. But he will likely need to wait in line here, as a true extension is unrealistic until 2026.
Colts CB Justin Walley Suffers ACL Tear
Justin Walley had impressed during the offseason program and into training camp, pushing hard to start alongside Kenny Moore and Charvarius Ward. A major injury will change the Indianapolis cornerback equation.
The Colts third-round rookie suffered an ACL tear. Shane Steichen confirmed postgame (via the Indianapolis Star’s Nate Atkins). This comes shortly after the third-year Colts HC confirmed Anthony Richardson had suffered a dislocated pinky finger.
Initially coming up as an option in the slot behind Moore, Walley made an offseason leap to the point he was being given real consideration to beating out JuJu Brents and Jaylon Jones for the Colts’ boundary spot opposite Ward. The Colts have experienced issues at outside corner for multiple seasons, and this development thins their latest competition.
Brents has experienced frequent injury trouble since being drafted in the 2023 second round, missing 23 games. This included a 15-game absence last season, altering the Colts’ CB plans early. Walley’s setback comes as both Brents and Jones — a regular CB starter over the past two seasons — had missed camp time because of hamstring issues.
The Colts chose Walley 80th overall in April, further augmenting a position group bolstered by winning the Ward free agency derby. GM Chris Ballard followed through on his stripe-changing proclamation by handing both Ward and safety Camryn Bynum big-ticket deals on Day 1 of free agency. Moore is already tied to a three-year, $30MM deal. This still left one spot open at corner, and Walley had regularly mixed in with the first team — to the point he may have been moving ahead of Brents and Jones in the competition.
A Minnesota alum, Walley intercepted seven passes in four seasons with the Big Ten program. The 5-foot-11 corner returned an INT for a touchdown last season and blocked two kicks, earning second-team All-Big Ten acclaim. Walley’s rookie contract runs through 2028, but this injury will impact his time spent to claim a 2026 starting job, as a lengthy rehab odyssey is on tap.